1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wetness monitoring system, and in particular, to a wetness monitoring system that permits qualitative assessment of provided care.
2. Description of the Related Art
An assortment of wetness detecting systems and associated devices have been previously proposed and implemented to monitor the condition of a diaper, bedding, adult incontinence brief, and other similar articles. The general principle of many wetness detection systems is to implement some sort of urine or wetness detector in cooperation with a display or alarm device. Some systems activate an audible or visible alarm to indicate the presence of urine within the diaper. This is typically accomplished by the detection of some threshold wetness level within a diaper.
Concerned parents have increasingly desired to know whether or not their infant or infirm adult has been subjected to excessive time in a wet diaper, for example, because of a dilatory caregiver. This information is often helpful to permit a parent or guardian, for example, to qualitatively assess care provided by a caregiver to an infant or infirm adult. In an apparent response to these needs, some systems purport to track and record the timing and frequency of urinating events and associated diaper changes.
A common problem encountered by many existing wetness detector systems is a susceptibility to system tampering and data manipulation by a less than scrupulous caregiver. For example, some systems may be easily disconnected from the infant's diaper and simply tossed aside by a caregiver in anticipation of improper or negligent care.
While there have been some attempts at implementing wetness monitoring systems that permit qualitative assessment of care provided by a caregiver, for example, these attempts have met with varying levels of success and improvement is still needed.